


Web of Love/Captured Heart (working title)

by Flavortext



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Kissing, brief reference to slavers arc, established relationship (kinda), this is soft, trapped together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 16:26:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flavortext/pseuds/Flavortext
Summary: some soft beau/jester for (late) vday! What's better than kissing in enclosed spaces?





	Web of Love/Captured Heart (working title)

**Author's Note:**

> This is unedited bc I wanted to post before midnight sorry! let me know of any horrible errors. Also thanks to Kes on the cr lgbt discord for the prompts!

Beau  _ really, really _ shouldn’t have been caught as well. She watches in near slow-motion as a concealed rope goes taught by Jester’s feet, and the reason she’s even looking that direction is Jester just grabbed her hand excitedly while recounting a story that Beau is 90% sure has strayed from any book Jester owns and is just original fantasy, but is also definitely supposed to be about them, and while Beau’s brain makes the sluggish processing jump from “cute girl(friend?) holding my hand” to “trap” Jester goes flying up, and like a dumbass, Beau tries to grab at her, throwing her arms around Jester’s rising waist, but that only succeeds in her getting caught in the rope net as it goes taught and rises around them. Beau finds herself with a facefull of skirt, limbs pinned uncomfortably under the tiefling. Jester’s shriek cuts off, and the weight above her shifts painfully. 

“Beau, fuck, are you okay?” Jester rearranges her skirts and frees Beau’s face. She’s sitting on Beau’s back, one of Beau’s arms trapped under her calf, and Beau’s legs are unable to get through the holes in the netting so are bent back upwards. Jester shifts again, obviously trying to get off Beau but with nowhere else to go in the tiny space. 

“Fuckin’ super, Jes.” Beau manages, pawing at the netting to try and get traction and slip out from under Jester. 

“I’m so sorry- I didn’t see-” Jester’s voice cracks, and it’s all the motivation Beau needs to force Jester up a little and roll over, pushing her back into the net so that Jester now sits on her legs while she faces her. Still heavy, but a major improvement. 

“Hey, it’s okay. It was well hidden- who put this here?” Beau tugs Jester’s hand from where it’s covering her mouth and holds it, lacing their fingers on the skirts of Jester’s dress. 

“I- I don’t know. Hunters?” 

“A little big for a rabbit trap.” Beau pokes at the netting with her free hand. Her fingers go through the small holes easily, but the rope itself feels strangely cool. Beau digs through her bag (very difficult but she manages) for a throwing star, and twirls it in her fingers before stabbing at the ropes. The blade glances off the ropes without doing a thing. “Yeah, shit.” Beau goes to shove the blade back in her pack and see’s Jester’s face, lip quivering a little. 

“I don’t want this to happen again.” Jester’s voice is barely a whisper, and Beau suddenly feels cold, summer day be damned. 

“I’m not going to let that happen, Jester.” Beau makes her voice hard and steady. Jester blinks at her, squeezing her hand hard enough to hurt, but Beau keeps eye contact and squeezes back. “Can you send a message to the others?” 

“I can try- last time they blocked-” 

“This isn’t last time, just try.” Beau chews her lip and wiggles her legs under Jester to keep feeling from going out of them. 

“Okay, uh,” Jester fiddles for a second before dropping Beau’s hand and holding her fingers out between them. “Hey, Caleb, Beau and I got a little stuck, I- where are we? I wasn’t paying attention- we-” Beau shrugs helplessly. 

“I was paying attention to you.” She whispers. Jester giggles despite herself. 

“We’re still in the forest, help please.” There’s a magical spark as Jester’s message sends, and she slumps, head coming to rest on Beau’s shoulder, horn digging a bit into her collar bone but, Beau thinks rather unhelpfully for the situation, they haven’t quite worked out the details of being around each other yet. Things like how to share a bed have been worked out after this long on the road, but there’s little things they do now like hug like this, where it’s evident to her just how new this is. Jester’s breath tickles her shoulder, but it’s steadying as the moments pass. Beau leans forward and hugs Jester, lacing her fingers around where the back of her armor gives way to fabric. 

“It’s gonna be okay, they’ll find us.” Beau says, surprised with how sure she sounds of herself. She guesses she knows it, though, that the others will do all they can until they’re reunited. Jester nods into Beau’s shoulder, horn digging into her throat, which,  _ ow _ . Beau huffs and pushes Jester away, not far, but just enough to look at her, eyes wide and scared. It makes Beau’s heart ache. Beau leans forward and knocks her forehead against Jester’s. From somewhere a tail comes and wraps around her wrist, moving her hand up to cup the side of Jester’s face. Beau smiles, wrinkling her nose when Jester sticks out her tongue, eyes going a little softer and mischievous. 

“There’s no one I’d rather be trapped in a scary net with, Beau.” Jester says. Beau grins lopsidedly, unsure of how to respond but happy to see Jester return to her usual self. 

“Yeah, you’re pretty great.” Is what her mouth supplies. Jester giggles. Beau’s legs tingle with the beginnings of numbness. 

“I’m  _ sure _ I’ve read a book where this happens, it’s such a  _ trope _ Beau.” Jester leans back a little, tail still wound around Beau’s hand. Beau settles back against the net and tries not to roll her eyes as Jester puts a hand up to her forehead. 

“Oh, Beauregard, whatever shall we do, trapped here so close together!” Jester mocks distress, and it’s so different than the true emotion that was painted across her face minutes ago that Beau can’t help but laugh. “I can see the cover now, ‘web of love’, or, ‘captured heart’!” Jester breaks into giggles too, letting back across from Beau. 

“Who’s it about?” Beau prompts. Jester thinks for a moment. 

“A princess on the run and her  _ dashing _ rescuer, running through the woods but too distracted by each other and their young love to pay attention to where they’re going-” Beau chokes a little at that, and Jester grins devilishly, leaning forward again. “The suitor is a genius librarian who helped the princess escape her evil father, and she’s the most beautiful woman the princess has ever seen.” Jester grins, finding Beau’s hands where they’ve fallen in the net and holding them back in her lap. 

“Uh-huh.” Beau says dumbly. Jester and her had made whatever they have  _ official _ only a week or so ago, with a nice heartfelt confession from the tiefling that she “actually might like girls a lot and really this one specific girl and it’s you Beau and if you don’t want to be roommates anymore I totally understand” which Beau has promptly shut up with the tightest hug she could manage and affirmation that she would always be Jester’s roommate, and if she wanted more she was “down for that”. 

There’d been an awkward fumbling of how to tell the group (Caleb took care of that immediately, with an “ah, finally” as they walked down from their room the next morning holding hands), but since they’d fallen into a steady rhythm. The only real difference Beau felt was that Jester didn’t hesitate to grab for her hand now (which still knocked the breath out of her, but she wouldn’t trade the feeling for the world), and they’d migrated to one bed or bedroll when they were on the road. They also hadn’t kissed yet, which Beau wasn’t sure if that was normal or simply Jester taking it very slow. And she was totally okay with it, because liking girls was totally new for Jester and she wanted to move at her pace and make it special for her. So Beau was happy to sit back and let Jester take the lead on that. 

Jester was still staring at her with a glint in her eye. 

“What uh- happens then?” Beau asks, mouth unhelpfully dry. Jester sighs and gestures with their interlocked hands. 

“The princess is so very scared, but the librarian promises her it will be alright, and all they have to do is wait for their friends to find them.” Jester pauses and blushes, looking down at her lap. “Thank you, Beau.” She says, softer. Beau leans forward, tracing circles on the backs of Jester’s hands. 

“We’ll be okay Jester. It’s just a matter of time.” Jester looks up, smiling slightly. 

“Can I kiss you, Beau?” She asks, and it hits Beau like a rock to the gut, so out of the blue, but that glint returns to Jester’s eyes so she just nods enthusiastically. Jester blushes, not making any move yet. “I just mean, to pass the time. And because I want to make sure I get the chance.” Jester says quickly. Beau keeps nodding, brain catching up finally. 

“As long as it’s what you really want- outside of this situation, would you?” Beau asks, suddenly anxious. Jester’s eyes go wide and she mimics Beau’s head movements. 

“Beau I’ve been waiting for you to kiss  _ me  _ for a week now- I thought you didn’t want to!” Jester frowns. “Why haven’t you?” Beau splutters. 

“I was waiting for  _ you _ , Jester! Because you’re so new to this- I thought you wanted to take things slow!” And that has Jester breaking into giggles, falling forward into Beau’s chest, and this time she tilts her head just so, so that her horn doesn’t dig in in an uncomfortable way, and Beau’s heart leaps as she joins in with her own laughter. 

“We should uh, communicate better. I guess.” Beau manages, tugging at Jester’s hands so she can look the tiefling in the face again. Jester gets a contemplative look on her face. 

“I’d rather kiss you, for now.” She says, smiling with the hint of pointed teeth. Beau’s mouth goes dry again. 

“That’s chill too.” She says dumbly. Jester grins. 

And then she leans forward and fits so easily against Beau’s lips that Beau for a moment forgets to even close her eyes. Jester presses against her, dropping her hands to come up to Beau’s shoulders, and pecks her once, twice, then pulls back a breath. Beau blinks her eyes open, opens her mouth to say something- and immediately forgets it as Jester leans back in, kissing her fully. 

She isn’t experienced, Beau can tell that much. But Jester is smart, she lifts a hand and cups the shaved back of Beau’s head, and tilts her head to the side and kisses her softly, lips warm and smooth in a way that makes Beau embarrassingly aware of where her’s are chapped and the spot that’s still slightly bruised from a fight. Beau does her best to recuperate, hands cupping Jester’s cheeks and tangling in her hair. Jester hums, tail thumping like Nuggets beside them, which makes Beau laugh, which makes Jester laugh and break away. Beau chases her lips a little but lets Jester lean back. Her legs give a twinge of regret where they are numb under Jester but she honestly doesn’t care, her whole being focused on the sappy grin on Jester’s face. 

“So, we can’t adventure anymore because all I’m gonna be doing is that, from this day forward,” Jester says, thumbing at the split on Beau’s lip fondly. Beau nods her head. 

“Neat.” She really wishes she had something better to say, but Jester laughs and leans back in, kissing the side of Beau’s lips where the bruise is before kissing her properly again, and again. 

They go on like that for what feels like ages, Jester gently tilting her head this way and that and testing out Beau’s reactions methodically. Beau’s face feels like it’s on fire, she’s never had someone be so sweet with her and she’s not sure her heart can take it, and she’s about to pull back to catch her breath when Jester jolts away, tilting her head and pursing her lips. 

“What’s wrong?” Beau asks, reaching for Jester’s hand. Jester laces their fingers together easily. 

“That was Caduceus, he asked the Wild Mother for directions and they are pretty sure they found our trail. Shouldn’t be long now.” Jester reports. Beau sighs and smiles at her. 

“That’s good. You’re a good kisser.” Beau says. Jester looks at her shocked for a second before grinning. 

“I’m learning from the best!” She says, and as if to prove her point dives back in, holding the back of Beau’s neck gently and kissing her, a firm press of lips and the brush of tail against her arm. Jester nips at Beau’s lower lip gently, almost like a question, and Beau relents, deepening the kiss and carding through her memories (which all feel dull and grey compared to the sparks under her skin now) to truly show Jester what she likes about kissing. They almost don’t notice when they hear barking. Jester’s ears twitch though, and she breaks away (flushed, hair a little messed up, Beau feels a surge of pride at that). Beau squints through the netting at the surrounding greenery. 

“Nugger, we’re over here!” Jester calls out, and there's a moment of silence followed by a great breaking of sticks and the whole net swinging as Nugget materializes in the underbrush and immediately puts his paws up, knocking them around and barking excitedly. 

“Good boy- ouch!” Beau wraps her arms around Jester as the other girl collapses, their whole prison swaying again as Nugget tries to jump at them. 

“Nugget, sit!” Jester squeals out, and their dog’s bark cuts off as the dog drops his butt to the ground. “Good dog, stay.” Jester sits up on Beau a little, trying to steady the net from the inside. Beau puts her arms out, and they sway in slowly receding circles for a moment before there's another crunching of sticks and Notts voice from behind them. 

“Over here! I found them!” She calls out. Beau strains her neck to see Nott circling the trap, dagger in hand. 

“The rope’s enchanted, at least over here, we can’t cut ourselves out.” Beau says, trying to kick feeling back into her legs. 

“I’ll take care of that.” Caduceus says, emerging from the treeline and tapping his staff firmly on the ground. There’s a shimmer around them, and the coolness of the ropes dissipates. 

“Hold on!” Nott shouts, and Beau searches only to find her halfway up a tree, holding onto the rope that holds them in the air. Her dagger glints and then they’re falling, Beau’s back and ass stinging with pain as Jester lands fully in her lap on the hard ground. Nugget is immediately on them, pawing at the net in an effort to get at their faces. Fjord and Caleb emerge as well, just as Caduceus bents and tugs the top cinch of the net open. Jester kicks it the rest of the way off and rolls of Beau, falling onto her back beside her in the grass. 

“Oof, thanks.” Beau groans, covering her eyes and trying her best to wiggle her toes. Her legs tingle painfully in response. Nott hops down from the tree and lands easily, pocketing the knife. Nugget finishes covering Jester’s face in kisses and moves on to Beau, licking at her ears until she has to push him off firmly and force herself to sit up. 

“Thanks for the quick rescue, guys.” She says. Fjord offers her a hand to stand, which she shakily takes, though she wobbles dangerously. Jester hops up and catches her though, arm easily going around her waist and firmly steady. Beau leans in, catching her breath. 

“Thank you for finding us.” Jester says, reaching down to pat Nugget’s head with the hand that isn’t holding Beau up. 

“Of course, nobody gets left behind. Let’s stick together, from here on out though, now that we know there’s traps lying about.” Fjord says, surveying the net with a disapproving look. Beau and Jester nod, Beau leaning on her for another moment before her feet feel firm enough to hold her. 

“Onwards?” She suggests, and the party forms up in a loose line. Jester stays at her side, though, and her hand slides from her waits to her own palm, and their fingers lock easily together, as they walk on. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out in March for the cr lgbt week! (http://transjester.tumblr.com/post/182330485169/lgbt-crdnd-is-having-their-first-ever-event-lgbt)


End file.
